Chennai: Residents of five Velachery neighbourhoods have urged National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) to exclude their areas from the Pallikaranai Marsh influence zone, which was designated a Ramsar site. They said homeowners are unable to obtain building plan approvals to rebuild old houses, sell their properties or secure bank loans, despite living in CMDA-approved layouts with valid pattas and property tax records for more than 40 years.The demand comes amid ongoing efforts to protect the ecologically sensitive Pallikaranai Marsh. NCSCM is tasked with scientifically validating the boundaries and determining the ecological zone of influence for Chennai’s Pallikaranai Marsh Ramsar site.Residents of Tansi Nagar, VGP Selva Nagar, Balamurugan Nagar, Annai Indira Nagar and Vijayanagar said the inclusion of their localities within the marsh’s buffer or influence zone has left hundreds of families in uncertainty. They said several old houses require redevelopment, but authorities are refusing to approve plans, citing the influence zone classification.“These are approved residential layouts for four to five decades, with property owners regularly paying taxes and holding valid land records. We are not encroachers. Yet we are unable to rebuild our homes or even sell our properties,” said M Balakrishnan, secretary of Tansi Nagar Residents Welfare Association in Velachery.Apart from stalled construction, residents lament that banks have stopped sanctioning housing loans for properties in these areas. Many families also fear that their homes could face demolition in the future because of the classification.“Our neighbourhoods do not contain marshland and have not affected the ecological character of the wetland. We urge NCSCM to conduct a field inspection, verify the ground situation and exclude the five residential layouts from the influence zone so that building approvals and other civic services can resume without affecting genuine homeowners,” said V Sadavisam, a resident of Vijayanagar.
